More than 9,000 business-minded attendees are headed to NOLA early next week to network with colleagues, advance their careers through professional development, and learn new techniques to achieve their personal goals.

Association:  National Black MBA Association

Conference: 38th Annual Conference & Exposition

Venue: New Orleans Convention Center

Following Wednesday evening’s welcome reception, the 38th Annual NBMBAA Conference & Exposition begins on Thursday morning with the career expo opening and ribbon cutting. Then, at the keynote luncheon, boxing champion Laila Ali and NFL Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis will discuss leadership and how it inspires, disrupts, informs, and transforms. Also on the schedule:

Hackers welcome. During a two-day hackathon competition, teams of undergraduate students majoring in business and science, technology, engineering, and math will be charged with handling a business problem and then be given 24 hours to share ideas and provide technology solutions. Top prize is $1,000.

Career focused. The NBMBAA Career Success Network Center allows attendees to jumpstart their careers while onsite. The center will offer a 75-minute Meet the Experts workshop, resume reviews, and Conference Job Match. The latter is a targeted recruitment service that provides job matching between NBMBAA partners and conference attendees.

Challenge accepted. The conference’s Innovation Whiteboard Challenge is an intense competition where entrepreneurs armed with only an electronic whiteboard, marker, and their sales skills are given five minutes to present their business idea to a panel of venture capitalists, academicians, and established business people. Final rounds will take place during the meeting, and one finalist will walk away with a $10,000 grand prize.

Head to Twitter (#NBMBAA16) for more conference details.

(iStock/Thinkstock)